Groom celebrates the promotion of two lawyers to principal, effective January 1, 2020. Additionally, Groom has had the pleasure of recently welcoming five new associates.
“Our two new principals are gifted lawyers who counsel clients on some of the most complex benefits, health and retirement issues that we are asked to evaluate for our clients. I am thrilled to announce their promotion to principal,” said Executive Principal, Mike Prame. “Our new principals and five new associates underscore our commitment to our growing client base and further our ability to provide strategic solutions for clients at a superior value. They also highlight the diversity of thought, background and experience within our team that serves to foster greater creativity and innovation. ”
Groom’s two new principals:
Michael Maricco. Mike draws upon many years of benefits experience in the private sector and government (at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) to counsel on a wide-array of issues for plan sponsors, including plan design, participant disclosures, reporting obligations, service provider selection and contracting, plan funding and termination, and benefit claims. Of particular note, Mike is instrumental in working closely with a group of related multiemployer pension and welfare plans, which grants him an insider’s perspective to cutting edge benefits issues, from innovation to implementation and administration.
Ryan Temme. Ryan’s practice includes counseling health insurers and plan sponsors on compliance with federal and state laws regulating health and welfare benefits. He works on all matters of plan design, and his practice includes advising clients on issues under ERISA, the ACA, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and COBRA. Ryan also assists employers, insurers, and plan service providers in ensuring that novel products and plan designs meet the requirements of both federal and state law. He defends employers and insurers in connection with federal and state regulatory audits and investigations. Ryan is also a member of the Firm’s Policy and Legislation Group where he leverages his deep legislative experience on behalf of clients.
Groom’s new associates include:
Zack Hoffmann-Richards. Zack advises clients on a variety of healthcare matters, providing counsel to plan sponsors, insurers, and third party administrators on a broad array of issues relating to ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, ACA and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Before joining Groom, Zack was a member of Health and Benefits Compliance group for a national consulting firm and, for more than eight years prior to that, served as a Senior Investigator/ERISA Enforcement Advisor with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Zachary Isenhour. Zach assists clients with a variety of employee benefits issues under the federal tax code, ERISA, and federal and state healthcare law, including preemption, plan qualification, and fiduciary issues. Zach graduated in 2019 from the University of Virginia School of Law and attended George Mason University.
Lena Kettering. Lena is practicing across the firm’s Employers, Health Services, Retirement Services and Litigation groups. She assists clients with a variety of employee benefit issues under ERISA and federal and state healthcare law. Prior to joining Groom as an associate, she worked as a summer associate with the firm. Lena attended the University of California, Los Angeles and, in 2019, graduated cum laude from George Washington University Law School.
Anthony Onuoha. Anthony’s focus is primarily on ERISA regulatory compliance issues, specifically fiduciary duties and prohibited transactions. Relying on his prior experience in the investment management industry and knowledge of securities laws, he advises plans, plan sponsors, investment funds, and fund managers on ERISA-specific concerns arising in connection with investment products across various asset classes, particularly private equity.
Jessica Winslow. Jessica advises both health insurers and large plan sponsors on a variety of health law matters, including issues arising under ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, COBRA, and HIPAA. Before joining Groom and while in law school, she interned for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and served as a member of the Administrative Law Review.
About Groom Law Group, Chartered
Groom is an award-winning law firm that solves complicated legal issues for a variety of clients that include plan sponsors, health insurers, financial institutions, retirement services providers, and the public sector. Specializing in all aspects of benefits, health and retirement law, Groom was founded in the wake of a landmark regulatory development—the passage of ERISA. Ever since, rapid response to shifts in the employee benefits, retirement and health care policy paradigm has been our calling card. In a world that moves as swiftly as the evolution of benefits law, versatility and willingness to adapt have become core tenets of our practice at Groom. We have one of the largest ERISA and employee benefits practices in the United States with over 80 attorneys.
